The present invention relates to submersible marine vehicles, operable both upon and beneath water, of a type adapted for use by a scuba diver. The prior art of vehicles of this type has, for the most part, consisted of elongated cylindrical-tubular structures upon which the scuba diver could ride. Such prior art vehicles presented difficulty in the control and maneuverability thereof and, as well, posed something of a safety hazard in that the foot gear of the diver could become entangled within the propeller of such vehicles. Also, the backwash or wake of such vehicles occurred just beneath the body of the diver such that water, including fish and plant life, therein was subjected to turbidity and generalized churning because of the location of the propeller.
Certain prior art know to the inventors, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,466,798 (1969) to Speers, entitled Toy Vessel For Use in Water, employed a horizontal plane configuration which did not address any of the above described shortcomings of the prior art.
Other art known to the inventor, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,593 (1971) to Poutout, entitled Self-propelled Submarine Device, employs a small propeller that is not surrounded by a protective shroud of the type of the present invention. It, as well, employs a different fluid-dynamic configuration. Poutout, as well, relates primarily to a snorkeling type device. It, as well, provides for handle means which are as far behind the propeller thereof, as the propeller of Poutout is behind the nose of the device. Also, the depth of such handle is substantially the same as the depth of the propeller and related motor. As such, a diver attempting to use the device of Poutout would find himself caught within the wake of the propeller and, because of the location of the handles far behind the body proper of Poutout, he would find it most difficult to maneuver the resultant device. Because of the reliance in Poutout upon a snorkel, its basic use is not that of a diving device. It is, accordingly, for such reasons that the length and location of the handles thereof are not of primary concern.
Other personal underwater vehicles known to the inventor are reflected in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,685,480 (1972) to Peroni and 5,105,753 (1992) to Chih. Further art in the area of underwater propulsion means known to the Applicant is U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,814 (1975) to Bardoni et al, entitled Underwater Propulsion Devices. The device of Bardoni teaches a motor and propeller assembly for connection onto the top of the breathing tank of a breathing unit worn on the back of an underwater swimmer. The motor and propeller unit is surrounded by a cover which does not provide for flow-through of water. Applicant's device, in distinction, makes use of a bottom-located shroud which is axially hollow and which is far enough beneath the body proper thereof to assure that the diver will not be affected by the wake of the propeller.
The instant invention addresses the above various set forth limitations of the prior art, providing a structure in which the propeller thereof is separated, both vertically and horizontally, from the body of the diver and which, as well, provides improved maneuverability versus prior art submersible marine vehicles suitable for use by scuba divers and the like.